


the one where being a mythological figure is not just an Asgardian problem

by sinequanon



Series: tiny avengers [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Greek Mythology - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-05 14:35:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15865587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinequanon/pseuds/sinequanon
Summary: It’s only on Tony's most maudlin days that he wishes he wasn't quite so immortal.





	the one where being a mythological figure is not just an Asgardian problem

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my new series, where I basically play around with various relationships and some of my favorite MCU tropes. Each of these will be between 1000 and 2000 words, and all are AU.
> 
> Have fun, and happy reading!

It is only on Tony's most maudlin days that he wishes he wasn't quite so immortal.

There are definite advantages to his deification—long lifespan, infinite capacity for growth, the potential for endless innovation—but making friends with humans is hard, and Tony feels much more comfortable holed away in his workshop than spending time with people who are all too willing to believe the worst about him without ever having met him.

(Of course, the ancient Greeks had been just as bad about that sort of thing as people today—Tony wasn't sure who had started the rumor that he was hideous and disfigured (though he suspected Ares, the ass)—but it had been persistent enough that his “lameness” still appeared in stories today. Aunt Hestia had apologized for the slander, but Tony suspected the others just couldn't handle the thought of him being both skilled and handsome at the same time.)

If Tony is being honest with himself, if it wasn't for Pepper and his obligation to his employees at SI (and the thought of Steve’s sad, disappointed face staring back at him), there would probably be long stretches where he would never leave the Tower at all. It wouldn't fit the Tony Stark persona, of course, but he had long since stopped caring about what others thought of him.

There are also times (though far fewer now than when he was younger, and still angry) when Tony longs to forge one last great weapon and use it to lay waste to the place he once called home.   
  
It would, unfortunately, require him to leave—JARVIS and the bots, the Avengers—and he loves them far too much to do that.   
  
Of course, there is no guarantee that Olympus still stands, or that it maintains the glory and splendor that had so fascinated mortals once upon a time. After all, Tony himself had been responsible for much of that radiance, and he doubted that anyone maintained the effort after he left. It was entirely possible that the fools had indulged themselves into ruin at some point in the past millennia, and equally as likely that another pantheon had grown tired of the endless rivalries and machinations of his family and had taken matters into their own hands to subdue them.   
  
(Even when Tony still lived with his brethren, Poseidon was well-known among his various counterparts to be an insufferable boor; enough so that if someone hadn't stabbed him with his own trident by now, Tony would be very surprised.)

There were people he could ask, of course, if he was truly curious. The lords and ladies of various underworlds were as good at gossip as any SHIELD agent, and he and Hades had bonded more than once over complaints about their thick-skulled relatives. If it came down to it, Hades would probably even help destroy the rest of them, and Persephone was unlikely to object, considering that last fight she’d had with her mother.   
  
(He wouldn't do it, even in his darkest moment, but it doesn't stop him from thinking about it every once in awhile. And maybe drawing up a few very detailed plans, just in case.)   
  
He loves the family he has now: Steve, with his unshakable faith; Bruce, and his quiet curiosity; Clint, with his interesting mix of intensity and humor; Natasha, and her intriguing complexity; and Thor and his boyish charm. They are the ones who matter.   
  
But there are times when the sunlight glinting off of Steve's shield reminds him too much of a burst of lightning across the sky, or Natasha's Widow brings to mind his Aphrodite and her capricious wiles, and he has to bite his tongue to bleeding to keep himself in check. There are times when the beeps and trills of his bots and the soothing glow of his holograms are drowned out by memories of sweltering heat and the smell of iron; of a smaller, darker, workshop where he made miracles for a family that didn't appreciate them.   
  
Prometheus may have given humanity fire, but Tony taught them how to  _ use _ it. Many a mortal’s forge had been a reflection of Tony’s work, and in a far more lasting way than the flowers and perfumes left at his other relatives’ altars. Today, their legacies sat dully behind glass cases in quiet museums, while Tony’s impact continued to twist and grow even now: from metal to wire to thought, the act of  _ forging, _ of creating, happened every day. Tony’s influence extended beyond crumbling colosseums and broken statues into the ever-evolving craftsmanship of today: in everything from body armor to code, his spirit was there; even if people had long forgotten the name Hephaestus.

<> <>

Of course, people's personal interest in Tony and their adoration for Iron Man is a type of worship in itself. Tony Stark is a king among men—and he’s largely treated as such—and each piece of Iron Man merchandise (he’d  _ told _ them they were one in the same) is its own offering to a supposedly long-dead god.

The other Avengers know him better than anyone has in a long while—and he loves them for it—but he still hasn't told them his biggest secret. Not even Fury, for all his contacts, knows the truth. He knows they’ll still accept him (they’ve accepted all his other quirks), but there's something nice about having his own little group of humans (and one godling) to look out for.

Thor had actually met Hephaestus, but that was centuries ago, when Thor was still a teenager and who, at the time, had been far too drunk to notice the unfamiliar deity chatting with his parents.

(Frankly, Thor had been so drunk that night that he’d probably forgotten he even  _ had _ parents, let alone that there might have been anyone else with them. It had been amusing at the time, but now, Tony wasn't sure if he was grateful, or just a little bit heartbroken. Maybe both.)

But.

There are times when Tony is in his workshop—the blaring music only just drowning out the memories clawing under his skin—when he’ll look up and Steve or Bruce or _all of them_ will be standing before him. The bots will chirp out their greetings, and JARVIS will remind him that it's been too long since his last meal, and Steve will give him this sad look, and the next thing Tony knows, he’s at the table and there's food in front of him and it's so nice that Tony thinks that maybe this is what family is supposed to be.

(He thinks maybe he likes it.)

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how many of these there will be, but I have twelve written at the moment. I’m not sure when I’ll be posting next (aside from the two others I’ll post today), so feel free to to subscribe to the series to receive an email when the next ones are up.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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